Interior
Gauges
& Instruments
A
lot of Modifiers want to keep the standard Morrie-look dashboard,
but want to add a few extra bits and pieces and other doodads.
Stuff like temperature and
oil pressure gauges, a clock, rev
counter or stereo are
the most common additions to a Minor's interior.
Oil
Pressure & Temperature Gauges
If you don't want to go cutting holes in the dashboard itself,
you should be able to find a combination set of gauges that
come with a bracket to hold them all together. This bracket
can be screwed to the underside of the dashboard with a couple
of self tapping screws. The area under the dash to the right
of the steering wheel (on right-hand drive Morries, opposite
side on LHD) provides a convenient spot. This is handy to
the driver and avoids the dashboard light switch (below the
speedo on Minor 1000's) and the most popular area for fitting
stereos.
The
next step in gauges, is to fit them directly into the dashboard,
normally either side of the speedo.
Get yourself an oil pressure gauge and a water temperature
gauge from a Mini. Measure the diameter of the gauge body,
set up a compass to the required radius, and mark out on the
dashboard where you want the gauge to be. Check that there
is nothing behind the dashboard where you have marked the
hole that will be damaged when you cut out the hole. I recommend
that you disconnect the battery at this point!
If
you have access to a hole cutter of the correct diameter then
use that to cut the holes in your dashboard, otherwise drill
a few evenly spaced holes in the dashboard within the inscribed
line. Using a round cutting file, carefully cut out the hole
just within the inscribed line. Once you have a hole approximately
the right size, repeatedly try to fit the gauge into the hole.
Trim the edges of the hole with a round cutting file until
the gauge is a firm push-fit.
Once
you have the gauges in place it's time to wire them up. The
temperature gauge requires a live power lead to one side of
the gauge, and an earth lead which goes to the temperature
sender unit on the engine. On later 1098cc engines the sender
unit is located in the front of the head. The oil pressure
gauge is mechanical/pressure activated (if taken from a Mini)
and requires a pipe going from the gauge to the rear of the
engine block. Avoid using plastic tubes as these have a tendency
to part company when they get hot. The best bet is to use
a copper or aluminium tube.
If
you have any doubts as to your electrical or mechanical ability,
then I recommend you get an auto-sparky or mechanic to do
the final setup of your gauges.
When
you're finished you'll have a pair of smart, period-style
gauges, that look standard and put the mind at ease, knowing
that if something nasty starts to happen under the bonnet,
you should know about it sooner rather than later!
Another
option is to fit the gauges into the driver's side glove box
as can be seen in this Fiat-powered Van
Rev
Counters
After-market rev counters tend to be too big to fit in the
dashboard, so are either fitted below the dashboard on a bracket
(see above) or are fitted into the glove box - either inside
the 'box or directly into the doors themselves (if your car
has them).
The
driver's side glove box is tricky to use at the best of times,
being hidden directly behind the steering wheel, so it makes
sense to use the space for gauges. Fitting gauges to the interior
of the glove box is pretty straightforward, although depending
on the size and weight of the gauge, you may like to fit some
kind of support for it under the gauge. This will reduce vibrations
and make it more of a 'professional'-style job. Note that
this will undoubtedly involve cutting holes in the glove box
liner. If you intend to restore your Minor to original condition
at some stage in the future, think about getting an aftermarket
plastic liner and putting the original cardboard one aside.
Original glove box liners are getting very hard to come by.
When
fitting gauges into the glove box door, follow the instructions
as above, but you will also have to either cut a hole in,
or remove completely, the inner door panel.
The
Speedo Hump
On
later-model Minors the central speedo hump is the focus of
the dashboard. Retaining this hump ensures that your Minor
will always look like a 50's or 60's vehicle. But, you are
severely restricted in the options available for fitment of
extra gauges, stereo etc. Remove the hump, fill in the hole,
smooth the top and Voila! A huge expanse of empty space into
which you can put all the doodads you can think of!
Some modifiers have taken to fitting entire instrument sets
from late-model vehicles. This sometimes involves removing
the entire Minor dashboard and replacing it with a narrowed
down Japanese unit. If you find the right donor car, the instrument
set may fit inside the glove box. There's an idea! Smooth
out the speedo hump, fill in the holes, fit all instruments
& gauges into the glove box, and hide it all behind the
glove box doors when parked!
Stereos
Under-Dash
The easiest place to install a car stereo is under the dashboard.
Most
car stereos come supplied with brackets which attach to the
sides of the stereo itself which can then be screwed to the
underside of the dashboard. Unless you as a driver want complete
control over the stereo, position it as close as possible
to the centre of the dashboard. This will allow your passengers
to use it whilst you concentrate on driving! Just remember
that the dashboard light switch on 1000's is in the middle,
immediately below the speedo.
In-Dash
If you haven't already used the glove box for gauges, you
can fit the stereo into the glove box door, or better yet,
make up a panel that fits snugly inside the glove box liner,
and fit the stereo into that. This way you can close the door
on your expensive stereo and hide it from view when you're
away from your car. For my Minor 1000, I cut out a piece of
wood to match the shape of the passenger-side glove box liner,
but reduced in dimensions slightly so that it would fit snugly
about two thirds of the way back into it. I cut a rectangular
hole in the wood to accept the stereo and another in the back
of the glove box liner to provide support for the rear of
the stereo. The face plate fits so snugly into the liner that
I don't need any further supports for the stereo, and there's
even space for a couple of CD's to be stored under the stereo
itself; all nicely hidden from view behind the glove box door.
Unless
you've done a smoothie job
on your dashboard, there's not many other places to fit a
car stereo to a Minor. That's when you have to start building
custom consoles.
Seats
Standard
Minor seats may be comfortable when pottering around town,
but long distance driving or 'spirited' driving styles demand
a little bit more support.
Almost
all modern car seats provide a great deal of support in all
the right areas - lower back, thighs, shoulders - and the
Japanese are especially good at making comfortable, sports-style
seats. Any of these that bolt directly to the floor can be
fitted to a Minor, although lookout for seats that are too
low or too wide. The Minor drive shaft tunnel does tend to
get in the way with seats from larger cars. The late model
Mazda 121 (post-1990) (an attempt at making a Minor for the
90's?) has seats which fit extremely well into a Minor. The
front seats simply require a couple of brackets welded to
the floor which the standard Mazda seat mountings are bolted
to. The only point to be careful of here is make sure that
the brackets are level! Otherwise you might end up sitting
with your head out the window and your feet in the parcel
shelf! The rear seat is even easier to fit than the front
seats! A bit of judicious tapping with a ball-pein hammer
to the inner rear wheel arches and the Mazda rear bench seat
virtually slides right in! And it comes complete with fold-down
seats to provide access to the boot!
A
number of companies produce after-market seats specifically
for the Minor. Newton
Commercial produce a seat based on the MG Metro or Minir
seats, providing head restraints, fore and aft adjustment
as well as a reclining back rest and lumbar adjustment. They
are available in many different uphostery patterns, including
an original-look stitched/padded style.